Strikes set to disrupt rail travel in first week of January

• Travel only if absolutely necessary on 3 & 4 and 6 & 7 January due to strikes by RMT
• No trains at all on 5 January due to ASLEF drivers’ industrial action
• Overtime ban and other strike action also affecting rail services
• Passengers urged to plan ahead, especially on New Year’s Eve

Passengers with Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink are being warned, regrettably, that services in the first week of January will be extremely limited with no trains at all on Thursday 5 January.

This is due to nationwide industrial action by members of the RMT and ASLEF unions.

From now until Monday 2 January – check before you travel due to national RMT train companies overtime ban

• Trains may be subject to change and cancellation on the day
• Pre-planned engineering work continues to close Victoria with trains diverted to London Bridge
• On New Year’s Eve the regular Saturday timetable will operate and Blackfriars will close towards midnight to help manage crowds watching the fireworks – please plan ahead and check last trains, as some will be before midnight

Tuesday & Wednesday 3 & 4 January and Friday & Saturday 6 & 7 January – travel only if absolutely necessary due to national RMT strike at Network Rail and train operators

• Many routes closed entirely south of London. Services start later each day and finish much earlier than normal (from 7.30am to 4.30/6.30pm, with last trains as early as 3.30pm on East Coast Main Line routes to/from London King’s Cross on Friday 6 January). See service map
• School children in particular should plan ahead and check online at nationalrail.co.uk
• Gatwick Express will not run but Gatwick will be served by eight trains an hour in each direction by Southern and Thameslink
• With regret, customers will need to find another way to reach their destination
• No trains will run between St Neots (south of Peterborough) and London (see editor’s notes)
• Services will resume after the previous day’s strikes at around 7.30am

Thursday 5 January – no trains on any part of the network due to national strike by train driver members of the ASLEF union

Saturday & Sunday 7 & 8 January – pre-planned engineering work

Sunday 8 January – late start to services

First and last trains on RMT strike days when they are running will be particularly busy. If passengers absolutely have to travel, they should consider going later or returning earlier if possible, especially as no alternative transport can be made available.

Angie Doll, Chief Operating Officer at Govia Thameslink Railway which operates all four train companies, said: “We’re really sorry for the disruption this ongoing RMT action will cause our customers over the entire festive period, until 8 January.

“Regrettably, due to industrial action, our train services will be extremely limited in the first week of January with no trains at all on Thursday 5 January. Please plan ahead and, if services are running, travel only if absolutely necessary.

“Services could also be subject to last-minute change on other days beforehand. On New Year’s Eve we’ll be running our regular Saturday timetable. We do have late night trains but it’s essential to check what’s running and your return journey before heading out.

“Vital engineering work is also closing much of the route north of London to Peterborough on Saturday and Sunday 7 and 8 January. Alternative travel advice is available online at nationalrail.co.uk.”

Daniel Mann, director of industry operations at the Rail Delivery Group, said: “No one wants to see these strikes go ahead, and we can only apologise to passengers and to the many businesses who will be hit by this unnecessary and damaging disruption.

“We would advise passengers to only travel if it is absolutely necessary during this period, allow extra time and check when their first and last train will depart. Passengers with tickets for between 3-7 January can use their ticket the day before the ticket date, or up to and including Tuesday 10 January.”

Customer information

Revised train times can all be seen in online journey planners such as National Rail Enquiries (nationalrail.co.uk)

For details on tickets and compensation during this period please visit train company websites.

Ends

Editors’ notes

New Year’s Eve

Trains will operate to the normal Saturday timetable. Customers should check last trains at nationalrail.co.uk. As usual, Blackfriars station will be set-down and exit only (via northbank) from 8pm, and will close altogether at 11.30pm, to assist authorities with crowd control during and after the fireworks display. Passengers should board at St Pancras, Farringdon or Elephant & Castle, where there is a normal Saturday timetable. The last two services from Sevenoaks to Blackfriars will terminate at Elephant & Castle.

7 & 8 January London to Peterborough route closures due to pre-planned engineering work

On 7 and 8 January, no train services will run between St Neots (south of Peterborough), or between Royston and London (7 January) and Letchworth Garden City and London (8 January). London King’s Cross and Moorgate National Rail stations will be closed to passengers, and there will be no services to or from St Pancras International via Finsbury Park.

Thameslink will operate a limited shuttle service between Peterborough and St Neots.

Great Northern will run trains between Royston, Cambridge, Ely and Kings Lynn (7 January) and Letchworth Garden City, Cambridge, Ely and Kings Lynn (8 January). Rail replacement bus services will serve intermediate stations between St Neots, Royston and Alexandra Palace (7 January) and St Neots, Letchworth Garden City and Alexandra Palace (8 January).

For customers travelling to London, there will be rail replacement bus services from selected Great Northern stations across to the Midland Main Line to connect into Thameslink services from Bedford to London St Pancras. No Great Northern services will operate on the Hertford branch between Stevenage and Alexandra Palace, with stations being served by rail replacement bus services. There will also be no services on the Moorgate branch.

These and other pre-planned changes are reflected in online journey planners such as nationalrail.co.uk, but you can also find out more information on the national rail engineering pages.